Progroup consistently pursues Two Twentyfive growth strategy

Having announced back in mid-February that active preparations for the construction of another paper factory were underway, Progroup has now decided on its location. Progroup will be constructing the new state-of-the-art paper factory in Germany in the town of Sandersdorf-Brehna near Bitterfeld (Saxony-Anhalt). As things stand today, construction work is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2019 and the current plan is for the project to be completed in the second half of 2020.

Under the Progroup umbrella, the production facilities of Propapier and Prowell form a corresponding system with the aim of balancing out the production capacities of both divisions of the business in an optimum way. Following the announcement of the construction of up to four more corrugated sheetboard plants by 2021 and the decision on the location for the third paper factory, Progroup is now embarking on the intensive implementation phase for its Two Twentyfive strategy period.

Progroup opts for site in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany)Following an intensive search for a site across Europe, the PM3 paper machine will be constructed in Sandersdorf-Brehna near Bitterfeld (Germany). In addition to the physical proximity to the sites of Progroup’s other two paper factories (PM1 in Burg and PM2 in Eisenhüttenstadt), it was the excellent transport links and the high level of industrial expertise in the region in particular that swayed the decision in favour of this location.

With a level of investment totalling €375 million for constructing the paper machine, approx. 140 highly skilled direct jobs and approx. 350 indirect jobs will be created in the region, depending on the final technical configuration of the machine. As well as the construction of the paper factory, in a second stage the overall project also envisages building a dedicated RDF power plant which will then supply the new paper machine with steam and electricity in an energy-efficient way.

The production facilities will be implemented on a “greenfield” construction plot covering an area of approx. 450,000 square metres. Following the principles of the Power of Innovation, Progroup is investing in eco-conscious, state-of-the-art facilities and is once again living up to its Green Hightech philosophy.

State-of-the-art paper machine for containerboardProduction is currently scheduled to start as early as the second half of 2020. The new PM3 paper machine will produce corrugating medium and testliner within the grammage range of from 80 to 150 gr/m². After the initial start-up phase, the plant will manufacture an annual capacity of 750,000 tonnes of containerboard with a working width of 9.20 metres. Together with the two paper factories PM1 in Burg and PM2 in Eisenhüttenstadt, the total annual production capacity of containerboard will then increase from 1,100,000 tonnes to around 1,850,000 tonnes.